Cable-supported belt conveyor



5 E. A. KOSK I ETAL CABLE-SUPPORTED BELT CONVEYOR Filed March 28, 1962 JNVEN TOR. EINO A. KOSKI HOWARD A. WILMETH ATTORNEYS It shouldbeho te thatfthe loadcarryingfruns the respective cabl un'd'erlie andisuppor-t the loa ing ru 13a ofthe belt, 'but'ithatthe retu 3,101,145 QABILESUPPGRTED BELT CONVEYOR Eino A. Koski and Howard A. Wilmeth, Silver City,

N. Mere, assignors to K'ennecott Copper Corporation,

New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 28, 1962, Ser. No. 183,125 4- Claims. (Cl. 198-203) This invention relates to endless belt conveyors and particularly to those utilizing endless cables or the like to support and drive the load-carrying belt. i

The usual belt conveyor as extensively used in the min ing and construction industries for hauling ore, rock, and other materials in a continuous stream is constructed to apply driving force directly to the load-carrying belt,

which is supported by head and tail pulleys and by numerous idlers placed at closely spaced intervals along the conveying lengths of the belt.

In recent years special types of belt conveyors have been developed, primarily for exceptionally long hauls and the handling of large and heavy rocks; whereby the loadcarrying belt is supported and driven by endless cables or the like susceptible of relatively taut tensioning and capable of supporting heavy loads without the structural damage experienced with belting, which is considerably less durable when driven directly.

Principal objects in the making of the present invention were to simplify the construction of and make more economical such special types of belt conveyors, so they would find greater applicability in industry than previonly.

An outstanding feature of the invention in the accomplishment of these objects is the provision of a special drive pulley over which both cables and belt are trained,

with the cables being positively driven andthe belt idling.

There is shown in the accompanying drawing apparatus representing what is presently regarded as the best mode of carrying out the invention. From the detailed description of this, other more specific objects and features of the invention will become apparent.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary lview in perspective of an end- I less belt conveyor conforming to the invention, only the Y tail portion being shown; I FIG." 2, a similar view showing'only the head portion v and with intermediate portions of the belt broken out to f reveal underlying structure;

FIG. 3, a transverse verticalsection taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2 and drawn to a somewhat larger scale;

FIG; 4, a vertical section taken on the line 4-'4 of PEG. 3;

FIG: 5, a similar view taken on the line ssbrrro. 3; and

FIG. 6, aitransverse vertical section taken on the line 6-45 of FIG. 1'.

Referring to the drawing: lnits illustrated form, the conveyor comprises a terminal head pulley assembly 10 and a terminal tail pulley 11, t I about which a plurality of endless cables 12 are trained in mutually spaced, side-by-side, seriesarrangement as driv ing supportfor a load-carrying, endless belt 13.

Although belt 13 is trained abouthead pulley assembly ll) in common with the cables 12, it has its own terminal I I tail pulley 'l t. A longitudinal series "of widely, spaced, 7

.belt-troughing idlers 15 supports the'lload-carrying runs' 12a of the respective cables and 13a of the belt along their f; lengths intermediatethe termin al pulleys' similarseries "f of idlers 16 supports the: return runs 12hjof th belt;

cables overlie and, in this instance, rest upon the return run of anti-friction bearings 21. Shaft 18 is rotatably mounted I in fixed position and is arranged to be power driven in any suitable manner.

.Drive cables 12 and conveyor belt 13 are independently tensioned. For this purpose, the cables are trained over and about sets of guide pulleys 22 and 23 mounted in common on firmly positioned shafts 24 and 25, respectively, and'about a set of tensioning pulleys 26 mounted in common on shaft 27, which is, in turn, mounted in sliding bearings (not shown) for back and forth movement longitudinally of the conveyor. A suitable weight or other tensioning means (not shown) is attached to shaft 27 by means of yoke 28 in customary manner. Similarly, terminal tail pulley 14, around which conveyor belt 13 is trained, is mounted on a shaft 29 which is, in turn, mount ed in sliding bearings (not shown) for back and forth movement longitudinally of the conveyor. A suitable weight or other tensioning means (not shown) is attached to shaft 29 by means of a yoke 36.

Terminal tail pulley 11 for cables 12 is mounted on a firmly positioned shaft 31. Its cylindrical periphery is preferably grooved, to recess the cables flush therewith, 'so

that it may be advantageously positioned in contact with the upper surface of the return runlllb of conveyor belt 13, as indicated in FIG. 1, to position the return runs 12!) directly upon the return run of the conveyor belt for support.

The belt-troughing idlers 15" include sheave idlers 32, FIG. 6, for the respective drive runs 12a of the cables 12, alternating with cylindrical idlers 33 for the load carrying run 13a of conveyor belt 13, these two types of'idlers beingmounted in common on a flexible shaft 34 supported in customary manner by suitable idler brackets (not shown).

It is to be understood that shaft 31 of terminal-tail pulley 11, shafts 2g4 and 25 of guide pulleys 22 and 23, and shafts 35, FIG. 2, of respective idlerslti are mounted V infsome suitable and well known manner (not shown);

From the above, it will be seen that both the drive cables 12 and the conveyor belt 'lS'are driven at synchronous speeds byreasonof the idlers Ztl freely rotatable ondrive shaft 1%, itbeing realizedthat thefrictionalengagement between cable drive runs 12a and load-carrying belt runlBa-seives to drive conveyo r ibelt 13..

Whereas there is'here illustrated and described aspecilic i 5 formof apparatus which we presently regard as the best mode 'of'carrying out our invention, it should be understood that various changes may be made without departing from the inventive concepts particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed herebelow.

.We claim: w U I 1. In a cable-supported, endless, belt conveyor having 'a plurality "ofendless cables arranged to support a single endless conveyor beltand-todrive it by reasonof'rnutualfrictional contact, a drive pulley assembly around which J bothcables and beltare: t'rained, said assembly comprising a:drive shaft; drive ,sheavesfor the respective cables, said sheavesfbeingrigidlysecuredtosaidshaftsb -as to erewitli;and.supporting pulleys for theconveyor otatablym'ount'ed ongsaid shaft oasto idleasfh' j v T es e -se wi h I! cla m 1; iss slin' ts a plurality of endless cables arranged to support a single endless conveyor belt and to drive it by frictional contact; an endless conveyor belt extending longitudinally of said cables and entirely enclosing them, except laterally, the underside of the upper, load-carrying run of said belt resting in frictional drive contact on the upper, load-supporting runs of the respective cables; a common drive pulley assembly made up of a drive shaft, sheaves for the -respec ytive cables mounted on said shaft to rotate therewith, and idler pulleys for the belt mounted by said shaft to rotate freely thereon; and idler means supporting cables and belt along their lengths.

References tCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,726,555 Garnrneter Sept. 3, 1929 2,429,100 Loose Oct. 14, 1947 2,971,633 Geofiroy Feb. 14, 1961 Grundelman Mar. 21, 1961 

1. IN A CABLE-SUPPORTED, ENDLESS, BELT CONVEYOR HAVING A PLURALITY OF ENDLESS CABLES ARRANGED TO SUPPORT A SINGLE ENDLESS CONVEYOR BELT AND TO DRIVE IT BY REASON OF MUTUAL FRICTIONAL CONTACT, A DRIVE PULLEY ASSEMBLY AROUND WHICH BOTH CABLE AND BELT ARE TRAINED, SAID ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A DRIVE SHAFT; DRIVE SHEAVES FOR THE RESPECTIVE CABLES, SAID SHEAVES BEING RIGIDLY SECURED TO SAID SHAFT SO AS TO ROTATE THEREWITH; AND SUPPORTING PULLEYS FOR THE CONVEYOR BELT, SAID PULLEYS BEING ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SHAFT SO AS TO IDLE AS THE BELT TRAVELS. 